"He's more machine now than mannequin" - repairing Darth Vader with a Micro:bit

As long term readers know, I got married dressed as Darth Vader. After keeping my wedding suit in storage for far too long, I purchased a mannequin to display the costume.

Ever since then, Vader has lurked behind me in my home office. Looming over my every decision.

But a few weeks ago, the old chap took a tumble. A gust of wind caught his cape - NO CAPES - and sent him crashing to the ground.

Luckily the helmet took the brunt of the impact - but I was now left with a battle-scared Vader. Perhaps in homage to the end of the Obi-Wan TV show?

I thought about trying to fill it in and sand it down - but I don't have the skills for that. But I can rebuild him - I have the technology.

I wanted something with blinkenlights - to match the original 1970s æsthetic. And something a little playful. So I dug out my old micro:bit!

Here is is in action. It scrolls various Vader phrases, shows a Vader emoticon, a heartbeat, and plays some Star Wars chiptunes when you press the buttons:

The code is super simple - it uses a "no-code" block platform like Scratch - you can remix it online:

And, with a single click, it can be posted to GitHub.

At the moment the Micro:bit is just held there with tape. Maybe one day I'll put in a little OLED screen so you can see Vader's "brain". Or perhaps an eInk panel showing the blinkenlights ASCII animation. Or I could fill him up with sweets and use him as a Pez dispenser?

But for now, I have a Bluetooth connected set of LEDs enhancing my big guy. Let's hope they don't get hacked!